Apparatus for conditioning motors



Nov. 17, 1959 R. L. wlLsbu 2,912,990

APPARATUS FOR- counnxoumc MOTORS Filed 001:. 23, 1956 IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent Office APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING MOTORS Robert L.Wilson, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 23, 1956, Serial No. 617,727

Claims. (Cl. 134-103) This invention relates to conditioning andcleansing means for motors and more particularly to de-sludgingapparatus for this purpose. One object is to provide a readily assembleddevice that is easily and quickly applied to internal combustion enginesfor the removal of sludge and dirt and for the cleansing of screens,bearlngs, pistons, valves, rings etc. Without dismantlmg the engine,without taking it out of service or hospitallzing 1t during the instantprocess, and without passing the cleans ng or rinsing material throughthe carbureter, thus makmg it unnecessary to vaporize the material.

A further object is to provide conditioning and cleansing means that maybe applied, operated and thereafter dismantled without calling for theservices of skilled mechanics, that is automatic in operation, simple instructure, speedy in use and inexpensive to manufacture. I

A still further object is to provide conditioning and cleansing meansfor motors that is useful in servicing different types of motors, viz.V-types, overhead valve. types, in-head valve types, in-line types,diesel englnes or motors, etc.

More specifically the invention provides means for bathing the motorwith a liquid solvent under pressure to remove the sludge; removing thecleansing mix ture or compound without diluting or otherwise impairingthe crankcase lubricant or even temporarily impairing the efiiciency ofthe motor; the cleansing operatlon requiring very little time, and thatis inexpenslve in use.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention-to provide means bywhich the motor may be rapidly and conveniently subjected to a cleaningoperation in all of its principal operating mechanisms withoutsubstantial dismantling of operative parts of the motor. Also, toprovide such means which can be conveniently used to thoroughly cleanthe motor of a vehicle which is driven into the service station, andwhich cleaning operation may then be conducted in a short time, andwhile the driver or occupant of the vehicle awaits completion of theoperation.

In connection with the foregoing it is a further object of the inventionto remove the crank case oil from the crank case through connectionapplied to the sump or drain opening as a preliminary operation, and tosend such crank case oil to storage in a special receptacle, to be heldin such receptacle without contamination by the cleansing agent orliquid during the cleaning operation. The equipment to be hereinafterdisclosed is such that, having thus removed the crank case oil and sentit to storage, the cleaning operation proper may be conducted andcarried on as long as needed to produce an effective cleaning job.Having completed such efiective cleaning job the equipment hereinafterdisclosed is such that the crank case oil may next be restored, ifdesired, tothe 'crank case for further use, and substantially withoutcontamination from the cleaning liquid which Was used during thecleaning operation. If desired, however, new crank case oil may besupplied to the motor after the cleaning operation has been completed,either as a substitute for the previously drained crank case oil or as asupplement thereto.

In connection with the foregoing operation it is here noted that many,if not the great majority, of the internal combustion motors presentlyin use for vehicle propulsion, are so designed and built that cleansingor lubris eating liquid introduced at the top of the cylinder block orblocks, and applied to the external surfaces of the cylinder head orheads, and to the valve stems, springs, rocker arms, cam shaft, andother moving parts, can flow down and be collected in the crank case. Itis thus evident that ifthe cleaning operation were to be conducted priorto removal of the oil from the crank case the cleaning liquid and thecrank case oil would become commingled. Since the cleaning operationinvolves a spraying of the cleaning liquid onto and around the movingparts at or on the heads of the cylinder blocks, andv I under heavyhydraulic pressure, it is evident that the so-sprayed cleaning liquidwill carry the dirt, grime, grit, and other materials removed from thecylinder heads and moving parts, down into the crank case. If the crankcase oil had not been previously removed it is evident that such foulingmaterials would be thus introduced into i the crank case oil withconsequent fouling thereof.

It is also noted that any cleaning liquid which will effectively cleanthe cylinder heads and moving parts must have a strong cleaning qualityor agency. Such a liquid could not properly be mixed with the crank caseoil without destroying the value of such oil as a motor lubricant.

Now the operation of withdrawing the crank case oil from the crank caseand sending it to storage for reten- -tion during and until completionof the cleaning operation, or for a, flushing operation directly aftersuch cleaning operation, does not require the development of a highdischarge pressure by the pump used for such withdrawal operation. Thisoperation is essentially a suction of the crank case oil from the crankcase and low pressure delivery of such oil to storage. On the contrary,the cleaning operation produced by use of the cleaning agent by a strongspray requires the development of a relatively high hydrostatic pressureon. the delivery side of the pump used for such cleaning operation. Atthe same time the pump used for such cleaning operation need developonly a slight suction (if any) to take the cleaning liquid from itssupply tank. Thus the two. operations of first removing the crank caseoil and sending it to storage, and second, delivering the cleaningliquid to the spray nozzles for producing an effective cleaningfunction, are of very different characteristics. Accordingly, I have 7provided two pumps for these two operations so that each pump may be ofspecifications best adapted to meet the requirements of the mainfunction which it performs. These pumps I designate as the drain pumpand the spray pump, respectively.

I have provided a single motor and driving connections from the shaft ofsuch motor to the rotors of both of the pumps. I have also provided anintake or suction connection to the intake of the drain pump, whichconnection may be attached to the sump or drain of the crank case. Thedelivery of such drain pump is then connected to both the storage tankfor the crank case oil and to the cleaning liquid tank (preferablythrough suitable filters). Valves are provided in said last connectionsso that the liquid being withdrawn from the crank case by the drain pumpmay be sent to either the crank case oil storage tank or the cleaningliquid tank, according to the operation then in progress. I haveprovided intake connections from both the storage tank for the crankcase oil and the cleaning liquid tank to the intake of the spray pump,together valves in said' Patented Nov. 17, 1959,

connections so that such pump may draw liquid from either the storagetank for the crank case oil or the cleaning liquid tank as desired. Thedelivery of such spray pump may then be connected to the spray nozzle ornozzles for the high pressure cleaning operation.

It is noted that the drain pump should be delivering cleaning liquid tothe cleaning liquid tank (generally through the filters, if provided)during the time that the spray pump is delivering liquid under heavypressure to the spray cleaning nozzles. Also that the drain pump shouldbe delivering crank case oil to the crank case oil storage tank duringthe draining of such crank case, but that during such draining of thecrank case it may or may not be desired to deliver liquid to the spraynozzles. If no delivery of liquid to the spray nozzles is to be effectedat such time both of the valves leading to the intake of the spray pumpmay be closed so that such pump will then be operating without supply toits intake and with no delivery of liquid, being merely an evacuationoperation. This will generally be the desired operation during thepreliminary operation of draining the oil from the crank case, since norecirculation of such oil will be desired at such time. However, it willfrequently be desired to re-circulate the crank case oil with out supplyof the cleaning liquid, after the cleaning operation has been completed,and for the purpose of flush ing out the slight amount of cleaningliquid left on the surfaces which it has contacted. Such flushingoperation may be effected by opening the valve between the crank caseoil tank and the intake of the spray pump, the' -valve between thedelivery connection of the drain pump and the crank case oil tank beingopen, and the valve between the delivery connection of such' drain pumpand the cleaning liquid tank being closed.

Havingdrained the oil from the crank case the valves may be re-adjustedso that the delivery connection of the? drain pump will be connected tothe cleaning liquid tank and so that the inlet to the spray pump willbe" from the crank case sump which will then be plugged in theconventional manner. Then the proper quantity of fresh oil may beintroduced into the crank case.

It is a prime object of my present invention to provide theinstrumentalities to enable each and all of the foregoing operations tobe performed in very simple and convenient manner. It is a furtherobject of the invention to bring said instrumentalities together into aunitary device which can be readily moved from place to place as needed,and which can be readily connected to the proper parts of the motor,expeditiously and conveniently and without the need of using specialtools therefor.

A further feature of the invention relates to the provision of a unitarymotor head enclosure or unit or cover which can be temporarilysubstituted for the bonnet or enclosure which is conventionally placedon to the cylinder block to enclose and house the moving parts such asthe valve stems, the rocker arms, and other elements. This substitutehead or cover is provided with an elongated spray nozzle of nozzles todirect the cleaning liquid effectively against the parts to be cleanedby the spraying operation. After the cleaning operation has beencompleted this substitute head may be readily removed and theconventional and permanent bonnet or head restored connected to thecleaning liquid tank. Under these can; 5

ditions the cleaning liquid will be continuously delivered under highpressure to the spray nozzle or nozzles, efiectively cleaning the motorcylinder block heads and moving parts, flowing down to the crank case,cleaning the moving parts therein, and being drained from such crankcase and sent to the cleaning liquid storage tank or thefilters leadingthereto. be continued as long as desired.

At conclusion of the cleaning operation outlined above the valves may beagain adjusted so as'to shut off the supply of further cleaning liquidto the nozzles while still allowing the drain pump to draw liquid fromthe crank' case and send it to the cleaning liquid tank until all of thecleaning liquid shall have drained down from the higher portions of themotor and into the crank case, and shall have been removed from saidcrank case and sent to the cleaning liquid tank. Then the valve leadingfrom the drain pump to the cleaning liquid tank may be closed and thevalve leading from the crank case oil storage tank to the inlet to thespray'pump inlet may be opened. Thereupon oil will be drawn from thesaid storage tank by the spray pump and delivered under heavy pressureto the spray nozzle or nozzles, effectively flushing off the cleaningliquid previously left on all of the parts of the cylinder block headlocation. Such flush ing oil and removed cleaning liquid will then draindown" into the crank case where any cleaning liquid remaining thereinwill be taken up and delivered from the crank case to the inlet of thedrain pump. Thence it maybe sent to the storage tank for crank case oil.

If the crank case oil is now excessively diluted by cleaning liquid oris excessively fouled (as generally it will be so excessively diluted orfouled), the valve leading to the spray pump intake may be closed, thedrain pump may then be run to completely drain the crank case, and thedrain pump" intake may be disconnected This cleaning operation may toits position on the cylinder block and secured in place thereon.

A further feature of the invention relates to the provision of anarrangement such that the successive changes from drainage of the crankcase oil to temporary storage, their delivery of the cleaning liquid tothe spray nozzles under heavy pressure for the cleaning operation, withre-circulation of such cleaning liquid for such interval of time as maybe" needed to effect desired cleaning of the motor; th'en restoration ofthe cleaning liquid to storage, and finally, circulation of thepreviously drained and stored crank case oil for such an interval oftime as may be needed to' effectively flush out the cleaning liquidwhich shall have remained on the surfaces of various elements and partsof the motor, may all be rapidly effected so that the overall timeneeded to carry through the cleaning operation may be reduced to aminimum. This result is secured by the provision of the various valvesby which the successive operations are made possible, and arecontrolled. All of these valves are grouped close together so that theymay be successively operated with maximum convenience.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description of what I at present consider a preferredembodiment thereof, as defined in the claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in vertical section and partly diagrammatic of avalve-in-line motor illustrating the application'of the instantde-sludging mechanism, and,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional V-type motorshowing pipe connection leading to the desludging apparatus.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral 1 denotesthe motor, in this case an in line type six cylinder motor. To apply theinstant device I remove the motor bonnet and apply my adapter head orcover'Z to the motor block 3. in which the cylinders are located, saidhead 2 having a cap 5 secured in position'by bolts 6, said head 2 havingan opening 7 closed by said cap, said head provided with the pipe 8extending longitudinally thereof near the top, said pipe bent intoapproximately a V-shape and formed with a plurality of-perforations 9disposed downwardly, one end of said pipe removably secured to the linkIt) carried by the wall of cap 5, said link at its outer end connectedby coupling 11 to a short pipe 12 and elbow 13 to the conduit 14disposed vertically downwardly and at its lower end connected by theelbow 15, coupling 16 and union 17 to the pipe 18 leading into theliquid pressure or spray pump 19 connected to the electric motor 20 bythe shaft 21, said motor connected also by shaft 22 to the suction ordrain pump 23 which may be connected by the conduit 24 to the crankcase25 of the motor.

Leading from the spray pump 19 is a pipe 26 connected to the line 27provided with the valves 28, 29, upon opposite sides of the pipe 26,said line 27 connecting the solvent or cleaning liquid storage tank 30to the rinse or crankcase oil tank 31 which is connected by pipe 32,elbow 33, pipe 34 and connection 35 to the filter 36 joined byconnection 37 to the filter 38 connected directly to the aforesaidsolvent storage tank 30.

Referring again to said drain pump 23 the same is connected by conduit39 to the said pipe 32 which is provided upon opposites of conduit 39with the control valves 40, 41, the latter being located between conduit39 and the said crank case oil tank 31.

Referring now to Fig. 2 a V-type motor 40a is shown having a pluralityof cylinders 40b in the crankcase 41!) from which a conduit 42 leads tothe spray pump 19 while a pipe 43 leads into the motor upon one sidewhile a pipe 44 leads from the pump to the V upon the side opposite tocylinders 40b, and a branch 45 leads from the pipe 44 into the valley 46of the motor. A suitable adapter (not shown) is provided for the V-typemotor that is similar in application and purpose to the adapter for themotor of Fig. 1 except that it is shaped to conform to the shape of themotor of Fig. 2.

In operation the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 includes the two tanks 30, 31which are mounted upon a truck (not shown), together with the adapterand connections so that the device is entirely portable, operable by oneattendant and mainly automatic in action. With this apparatus it is notnecessary to vaporize the de-sludging and cleansing material before itcan be used but this material is introduced and used in liquid form fromstart to finish, this being due to. the fact that the material is notpassed through the carburetor. In order to use the instant motor cleanerit is first necessary to draw the old oil from the crankcase and thenconnect the return line to the tank 30, connect the adapter cap to thehead 2, connect pipe 24 to the crankcase and fill the crankcase with thecleaning fluid through the filler plug. Now open valve 28 in pipe 27leading from the storage tank 30 which allows solvent to enter the pump19 through pipe 26, open valve 40 in pipe 32 and start the motor 20 tooperate pump 19 and force cleaning liquid through pipes 18 and 14,through pipe 8 and out through perforations 9 into the head 2 from whichit drains through the engine into the crankcase and is drawn out throughthe pipe 24 into pump 23 and from which it is forced out through pipe39, valve 40, pipes 32 and 34 into the filter 36 and out through pipe 37into filter 3S and back into the tank 30.

Valves 41 and 29 are closed when the foregoing is taking place. Now torinse the motor close valves 28 and 40 and start motor 20 which drawsoil from tank 31 through valve 29, pipe 26 and pump 19, through pipes18, 14 and into pipe 8 from which such oil is sprayed throughperforations 9 into the head of the engine from which the liquid drainsinto the crankcase and is drawn out through pipe 24, pump 23, pipe 39,valve 41 into the tank 31. Repeat as may be necessary for thoroughness.For V-type motor the process is the same.

Conventional constructions of internal combustion engines includeopenings and passages extending down from the space within the hood orbonnet 2 to the crank case. Such openings and passages frequentlyinclude clearances around the push rods which extend up from the camshaft (in or connected to the crank case space) to the valve rocker armswhich are located above the cylinder block or blocks and within thespace enclosed by the hood or bonnet 2. Said openings and passagescommunicate with the space within the bonnet 2 through openings andpassages in the floor of such space. Thus the cleaning fluid from thespray nozzles or openings 9 may freely flow down into the crank case asalready referred to.

What is claimed is:

1. Means to clean moving operative parts of an internal combustionengine, which engine is provided with such moving parts adjacent to theheads of the cylinders and external to said cylinders, and which engineis provided with a crank case in its lower portion and enclosing thecrank shaft and connecting paits and other moving parts of the engine,said crank case being provided with a drain opening and removable meansto close said drain opening, and which engine includes passagesextending down from the space around the moving parts which are adjacentto the heads of the cylinders into communication with said crank case,said cleaning means including a bonnet of size and contour to overlieand enclose the moving parts which are adjacent to the cylinder heads inliquid sealing fashion, a manifold in said bonnet, a plurality of spraynozzles within said bonnet and in fluid connection with said manifoldand provided with spray orifices adapted to deliver cleaning liquidtowards said moving parts which are adjacent to the cylinder heads, saidcleaning means including a cleaning liquid tank, a crank case oilstorage tank, a drain pump having an inlet connection and a deliveryconnection, a spray pump having an inlet connection and a deliveryconnection, a liquid supply conduit in connection with the inletconnection to the drain pump and removably connectable to the drainopening of the crank case, a pressure liquid delivery conduit inconnection with the de livery connection of the spray pump and removablyconnectable to the manifold in the cylinder head bonnet, liquid deliveryconduits extending from the delivery connection of the drain pump to thecleaning liquid tank and to the crank case oil storage tank, a valve ineach of said conduits effective to control delivery of liquid from thedrain pump to either of said tanks selectively, liquid supply conduitsextending from the two tanks to the inlet connection of the spray pump,a valve in each of said conduits efiective to control supply of liquidfrom either of said tanks to the inlet connection of the spray pumpselectively, and means to drive both of the pumps.

2. Means as defined in claim 1,'wherein the means to drive both of thepumps comprises a motor and driving connections from such motor to therotors of both pumps.

3. Means as defined in claim 2, wherein the rotors of both of the pumpsand the output shaft of the motor are all in alignment, and wherein therotors of the two pumps are connected to the two ends of the outputshaft of the motor.

4. Means as defined in claim 1, together with means to supportablyconnect the manifold to the bonnet, and wherein said bonnet and manifoldcomprise a unitary structure.

5. Means as defined in claim 4, wherein the bonnet is removablyconnected to the heads of the cylinders.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,222,513 Mulvaney Nov. 19, 1940 2,240,227 Saussure Apr. 29, 19412,366,073 Vallerie "Dec. 26, 1944 2,425,848 Vawter Aug. 19, 19472,493,120 Eaton Jan. 3, 1950 2,525,978 Vallerie Oct. 17, 1950 FOREIGNPATENTS 128,243 Australia July 6, 1948

